Portal:Current events/2021 March 13

March 13, 2021 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- 2021 Afghanistan attacks
  - A car bombing near a police station in Herat Province kills at least eight people and wounds more than 50 others. (Al Jazeera)
2021 Myanmar protests
- Twelve people are killed after soldiers open fire on protesters in Mandalay, Yangon, and Pyay. A 13-year-old child is among those killed, the youngest victim of the unrest to date. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Avatar retakes its place as the world's highest-grossing film of all time from Avengers: Endgame following a domestic release in China. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

A Kazakh Air Force Antonov An-26 crashes in Almaty, killing four crew members on board and wounding two others. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - France reaches a milestone of five million people having received their first vaccination shot. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (country)
    - Georgia receives 43,200 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine distributed through the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative. (Agenda)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - Hungary reports a record 9,444 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 507,627. (Hungary Today)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Wales
      - Wales begins to ease their first step of lockdown restrictions, with "stay-at-home" replaced by "stay local". According to new rules, four people from two households can meet outside and outdoor sports can be resumed. (The Daily Telegraph)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
    - Jordan's health minister resigns after six COVID-19 patients die due to a lack of supplemental oxygen at a hospital ward in Al-Salt. (BBC News)
    - Jordan receives 144,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine distributed through the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative. (Roya News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
    - Mongolia reports a record 169 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,833. (Xinhua News Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, Lineage P.1
    - The Philippines reports its first case of the Lineage P.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a person who travelled from Brazil. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia
    - Ethiopia begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections, a week after the country received 2.2 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
    - Tunisia begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Sputnik V vaccine. Health workers, soldiers, people over age 65, and people with underlying conditions are the first to receive the vaccine. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in California
    - PlainSite public data reveal 450 workers at the Tesla Factory in Fremont have tested positive for COVID-19 since Tesla CEO Elon Musk reopened the building last May. (The New York Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - Australia reports its first local COVID-19 cases in two weeks, when a doctor in Brisbane tests positive. (The Independent)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
  - Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva receives his first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine. (France 24)
  - Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso member Silvio Favero, known for introducing a bill against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, dies from COVID-19 in Cuiabá, Brazil. (Euro Weekly News)

International relations

China–United Kingdom relations, Hong Kong protests
- The United Kingdom formally declares China to be in breach of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, saying that China is now in "a state of ongoing non-compliance" of the treaty. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says that the UK will "continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong". (Financial Times)

Law and crime

Death of Sarah Everard
- A Metropolitan Police officer is remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey in London on March 16. (BBC News)
- At a candlelight vigil in Clapham, mourners defying COVID-19 gathering restrictions clash with police officers attempting to disperse them, resulting in four arrests. The actions of the police draw condemnation from several officials, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Priti Patel. (Evening Standard)
2020–21 United States racial unrest, Shooting of Breonna Taylor
- People rally in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first anniversary of the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot by officers who forced entry to her home using a no-knock warrant. Surrounding roads are closed off, but many felt the security measures were excessive. (BBC News)
2019 Bolivian political crisis
- Former interim President Jeanine Áñez is arrested by police and is accused of participating in an alleged coup d'état against ousted President Evo Morales in November 2019. Before being arrested, Áñez denounced the arrest and stated that the "persecution had begun". (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2021 Western Australian state election
- The Labor Party wins the state election in Western Australia, in one of the biggest landslide victories in the country's history. (ABC Australia)